Double Joy
by NBLE999
Summary: A small story about Cuphead and Mugman's parents, Earl Grey and Juniper Tea.


Double Joy

Earl Grey let out a small yawn as he spread the peanut butter over the sandwich he'd prepared. He scowled both in confusion and mild disgust as he took one last look at the ingredients, before placing another slice of bread on top. It was a weird assortment of cheese, pickles, sardines, peanut butter and spinach. He sighed worryingly to himself as he realised he was probably wasting time to deliver the strange sandwich to his wife in the next room.

It was late at night and they couldn't sleep, partially because it was hot as hell, almost 20 degrees Celsius, but mostly because their unborn child was keeping her awake, and in turn, himself. They were due in October, which was a little over three months away. His wife Juniper, or Juni as she was called, was sitting on the couch, fanning herself with a pamphlet before looking to see what her husband served to her.

"There you go, just what you asked for," he mumbled, slightly yawning.

His wife smiled warmly and responded, "Thank you, sweetie."

Earl slumped down into the couch, completely taken over by the heat and fatigue. He looked over to his expectant wife who was munching away, and felt his heart lift a little. Sure, some of the men in the neighbourhood warned him that "his life will be over" once their baby arrives, but he didn't really pay attention. The fact that he was going to be a father honestly made him feel alive. Three years ago, he never imagined he'd get to marry a beautiful, friendly cup like her. Of course, there have been ups and downs, arguments and conflicts, but nonetheless they stuck together through thick and thin. Now, they'll be facing the biggest challenge in their lives: parenthood.

"Uhh, what are you looking at, dear?" Juni asked, smirking.

"O – oh! I was just thinking…a – about…" he stammered.

She chuckled before resting her free hand on his shoulder, gently telling him, "You don't have to explain, ya goof. I know what you were thinking. You were thinking about how huge I am right?"

"N – no, I wasn't, Juni!" he retorted.

Juniper chortled and replied, "I know, I was just messing with you, ya goof!"

Earl sheepishly grinned, causing his wife laugh. She then sidled over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Is the warm weather making you all dozy?" she joked.

"Well, maybe," he chuckled with a yawn, "mind you, I think the weather's also making our little mug _extremely_ restless."

Juniper looked down and gently rubbed her large belly with her left hand. Their youngster was restless for pretty much the entire week with this heatwave, so her husband was most likely right. At this moment, Juniper could feel them trying to get into a comfortable position.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I also think that these late night snacks are to blame as well."

Earl placed his hand on her left hand and replied, "Well, relax sweet tea. At least we're getting closer to meeting them."

"Heh, true, true."

Both parents smiled at each other for a moment, before Juniper moved in closer to rest on Earl's shoulder, to which he responded with a kiss on her forehead. Soon enough, the heat got to him again and he pulled away to wipe his brow.

"Oh, god it's hot!" he complained, "what do you wanna do, now that we're up?"

"Well, we still have to think of boy's names. I mean we have settled on Jasmine for a girl, so what should we name our baby if it's a boy?"

Earl thought for a moment before proclaiming, "Oh, I've got a good one! How about…Mugman?"

Juniper nodded in response, saying, "I suppose that's nice…but what if he's a cup headed baby?"

Earl pondered for a bit more before asking, "Well, do you know any good boy's names with 'cup' in them?"

She looked at him awkwardly, going over possible names in her head. She then sheepishly answered, "Well, the only one I could think of is…Cuphead..?"

Earl tilted his head to the side while Juniper guessed that he didn't think it was a very good name. Much to her surprise, he replied cheerfully, "Yeah! That's a pretty swell – sounding name, Juni!"

"Oh, that's good!" she beamed. She suddenly looked down upon feeling their baby start moving again, this time they were a little more active. She gave Earl a little smile and gently took his hand to place upon her belly.

"Looks like the baby likes both names," she chuckled, "probably can't choose between them!"

Earl only managed a small chuckle as he felt their unborn child move around excitedly, and his heart fluttered with joy as he couldn't contain his ever – growing excitement at being a father. His wife was just looking at him with a warm, contented smile on her face, watching her husband's eyes glisten immensely. She also shared his anticipation at seeing their baby for the first time.

Two months later…

Both Earl and Juniper were out shopping in Isle 3 for paint to use in their child's nursery. However, while Earl was still deciding which colour to use, his wife gripped his arm very tightly and muttered, "Honey, I don't think our baby wants to wait another day to see us."

Soon enough, he managed to bring his labouring wife to the hospital in just under five minutes. After signing in, Juniper was being wheeled off to the delivery room, while one of the nurses took Earl aside.

"Mr Grey, I'm afraid you can't be with your wife during the birth," she informed him regretfully.

"What do you mean I can't be there?! I promised I'd be –"

"I understand," she interjected, "but it's for health and safety reasons and I assure you that she'll be fine."

Earl sighed and dejectedly watched as the group of nurses disappeared around the corner. His wife gave him a wave before she was out of sight, which he returned. Still, he nonetheless felt crushed at not being there for her at this important moment. He'd been hoping to be by her side, hold her hand and comfort her through the birth, but now…he wasn't. He found a chair in the waiting room and sat down with a miserable look on his face.

In the waiting room, Earl would watch the other toons that sat there leave and not come back. _Well, at least they got their child to go home with_, Earl thought. Some husbands also waited with their wives, likely waiting to see if the stork arrived yet with their child. He looked at the clock every few minutes, hoping that the nurse would come by with good news.

Minutes turned to hours, and soon enough, Earl found out that time crossed over into the next day, September 29th. He'd fallen asleep for a while and bolted awake when his head nearly spilt its contents. Just then, at long last, a silver spoon nurse walked in and called his name.

The red mug was bubbling with excitement as he was led down the bleached white corridor. He was a father now, and pretty soon, he'll get to meet his first child. Along the way, he asked, "Hey, nurse, uh, is my wife doing okay now? A – and our baby?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, smiling, "everybody is doing fine, sir."

A wave of relief washed over him and soon enough they were outside the door. The doctor and a few other nurses came out, each wishing him congratulations before he went in. The anticipation was killing him and he felt his heart skip a beat when he stepped through the door.

The first person he saw was his wife laying in bed, holding not one, but _two_ small bundles. Earl's eyes widened in surprise as he soon noticed them with his mouth agape in awe. Juniper could only smile wider as he came closer before sitting down with a few tears running down her face. Earl gently pulled back the cloths to find that one twin resembled him and had his wife's blue colour while the other was red and had his wife's large eyes. Their china was greyish white and both had their father's handle. Stunned, Earl tried to find the right words to say, only to start sobbing with happiness.

"We – we were having twins a – all this time? Seriously?" he sniffed.

"I know! I was surprised as well, but hey, here they are! Two boys," she replied, crying with joy.

"Boys? So, that means we're naming them…"

"Yeah, Cuphead is the red one and I named the blue one Mugman, who's the youngest. I think their names suit each other better than I have imagined."

Earl chuckled and looked down at their sleeping twins, with Mugman starting to whimper.

"Oh, I think maybe Mugman's getting hungry, do you wanna hold Cuphead while I feed him?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, taking the red infant in his arms.

As Juniper reached for a full bottle on the bedside locker, Cuphead started to cry once he realised he wasn't in his mother's arms anymore. He started kicking in his father's arms in protest but calmed down when his father gently shushed him.

"Hey, little man, I'm your daddy, and I'm so glad I got to meet you and your brother," Earl whispered to him. Cuphead opened his eyes and stared curiously up at his father, who was grinning rim to rim at his new-born son. The baby cup then stuck his hand out of the blanket and pawed at his father's large nose, causing him to chuckle.

"Aww, I think he likes me!" he laughed.

"Well, of course he does, because he knows you're his papa. Hey, why don't I hold him for now while you hold Mugman?" asked Juniper.

"Okay, thanks!" he beamed.

For the next hour, both parents were doting over their little boys, who were now getting ready to fall asleep again. Earl gently pulled the blankets back over his sons and sat back in the chair.

"I can't believe that this is real," he said to Juniper.

"Neither can I, but hey we've always managed to get through anything together, right?"

"Right," he agreed.

They both looked down at Cuphead and Mugman, who were now fast asleep. They felt prepared for what was ahead of them and couldn't be even more thrilled at the thought of how their boys would turn out.

**A/N: Hi folks! I hope you enjoyed this fluffy story about Cuphead and Mugman's parents. Honestly, I decided to write it because I had a funny idea about their parents being surprised at having twins. If you liked it, please leave a nice review and give it a fave, if you like. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. I'm thinking of doing another short story with the boys seeing as how the anniversary of the game is next weekend, so I'll see what I can do! Have a lovely evening. Bye!**


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